Seen the AHL’s Calder Cup playoff stats? At 3-1 in their best-of-seven series against the Abbotsford Heat, the Rochester Americans are scoring goals at a hellacious clip, pouring on a league-best 20 goals while placing five of their players in the top 20 in points. Add to that a combined 284 penalty minutes – so far – and the evidence builds for Florida’s prospects making some solid positive headway in their collective development.
Veteran Mike York – not a “prospect” in any sense, but an Amerks cornerstone – leads the AHL with 10 points (1 goal) in 4 games. Ranking third? Defenseman Jason Garrison, who’s capping off his breakout season with 2 goals and 8 points. Shawn Matthias is finally making believers out of more than a small group of core fans with 6 points (4 goals). Jeff Taffe – another league veteran – has clocked 6 points, while Graham Mink rounds out The Rochester Five’s scoring with 3 goals and 2 assists. No question, head coach Benoit Groulx has found a satisfying, and successful, mix among his players.
From a Panthers perspective, interest remains high in the those names we’ve seen for a while – in some cases years – who are on the cusp of a regular spot in the Sunrise lineup. And what of the guys who logged part-time duty with the parent club in 2009-10?
- D Garrison: 2g-6a-8p +4 2pp 8sog
- C Matthias: 2g-4a-6p +6 0pp 7sog
- LW Jeff Taffe: 1g-5a-6p +4 0pp 10sog
- RW Michal Repik: 1g-1a-2p -1 0pp 9sog
- D Keaton Ellerby: 1g-0a-1p +5 0pp 6sog
- LW Evgeny Dadonov: 0g-1a-1p even 0pp 5sog
- RW Victor Oreskovich: 0g-0a-0p -1 0pp 2sog
(All have played four games in the series) The full list of stats can be found here. We’ll concentrate on goaltenders and “fringe” players in the near future.
Any surprises in the numbers? Expected more – or less – from a couple? Agree with Groulx’s vets-over-youngsters strategy?
Note: for full Rochester coverage please check out the fabulous LetsGoAmerks.com.